Men's Basketball

Cornell's Wittman to Play for Celtics Summer League Team

Jul 01, 2010

Courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The ultimate dream of anybody who
has ever laced up their basketball sneakers is to play in the
National Basketball Association. For Ryan Wittman,
that dream became just a little closer to reality.

Wittman, a 6-7 forward and the reigning Ivy League Player of the
Year, was signed by the Boston Celtics to play for their Summer
League team when the squad plays in the AirTran Airways Pro Summer
League in Orlando, Fla., beginning on July 5. Among his teammates
is expected to be Celtics' second round pick Luke Harangody, an
All-American out of Notre Dame. The Celtics made the NBA Finals in
2010 after claiming the NBA title in 2008. That was the
organization's record 17th NBA crown. Among the roster are
All-Stars Ray Allen Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.

Wittman, an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in
men's basketball as a senior, became the third Cornelian to earn
Ivy League Player of the Year honors, doing so unanimously, and was
picked to the first team by each of the Ivy coaches for the third
straight season. The school’s career scoring leader (2,028
points) became the Ivy League’s fifth 2,000-point scorer with
his 24-point effort in the NCAA tournament win over Wisconsin. He
holds school and Ivy records for 3-pointers in a season (109 in
2009-10) and career (377) and was named to the
collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major All-Decade team. Wittman
helped the Big Red to three Ivy titles, three NCAA tournament
appearances and the school's first-ever spot in the Sweet 16 during
his final campaign.

The USBWA and NABC first-team all-district pick averaged 17.5
points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while setting an Ivy League
record with his 109 3-point field goals as a senior. The eight-time
Ivy League Player of the Week during his career was the MVP of the
Legends Classic Regional and an all-tournament pick at the MSG
Holiday Festival in 2009-10. He ended his career as a three-time
NABC and two-time USBWA all-district honoree after capturing Ivy
League Rookie of the Year accolades in 2006-07.

Games are played at the RDV Sportsplex but are not open to the
public. The official site of the Orlando Magic, www.nba.com/magic,
has provided live webcasts in previous years and select games will
appear on NBA-TV.

Harvard's Jeremy Lin has been invited to the
Dallas Mavericks' minicamp at the end of June, while Cornell's own
Jeff Foote will next be playing overseas for
European power Maccabi Tel Aviv.